Japanese forces occupy part of Vichy French Indochina during 2nd Sino Japanese war. Animated map shows Leizhou (luichow) Peninsula and Hainan Island of China opposite the North Central coast of North Vietnam, centered at Haiphong harbor. Lines appear showing the path of Japanese troops occupying North Vietnam from Haiphong, in two sweeps to Northeast and Northwest and circling towards Hanoi. Mountainous terrain of the region is shown. Camera pans down a sheer cliffside in the mountains. Narrow roads are shown carved in the mountains and hills. A Japanese sentry stands at a sandbagged outpost, displaying the Japanese flag. A solitary building sits atop a hilltop in the background. A concrete marker indicates distance of 171 km to Hanoi. Several Japanese engineers make their way to the top of a mountain, accompanied by soldiers. An abandoned French heavy gun is seen in a concrete emplacement. View of Japanese soldiers looking out from the hilltop. A sign along a mountain road reading "Keep to the right," in French, English, and Japanese. Soldiers gather around a large tree fallen across the mountain road. They pose for the camera next to the tree. Japanese officers walking through an archway, from a large building in background. Closeup of barrel containing portland cement, followed by view of many such barrels being examined by Japanese engineer.

Scenes through the fertile countryside of French Indo-China on a trip to Hanoi during World War II. A train arrives at a station. People at the station. Buildings and a market place. Street vendors and rickshaw pullers. Military personnel move out of a building. Lao-Kai ( border station between French Indo-China and China). Soldiers with conical hats. Drums on the ground. A procession passes through the streets.

Division of Vietnam into North and South Vietnam as Indochina war ends up in Vietnam. Aerial view of cratered battle ground, with smoke rising, at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, in March, 1954. A French A-26 Invader aircraft flying above some clouds and pilot in cockpit using radio. French paratroops, dropping from C-47 aircraft, and landing, to reinforce troops dug in at Dien Bien Phu. French artillery firing and rounds exploding in the distance. French troops moving through brush, and carrying wounded back out. Citizens on streets of Hanoi, North Vietnam, scrounging for scraps to eat. An old woman hunkered down in a doorway. A mother with a young boy. French troops crossing a bridge as they surrender following the siege at Dien Bien Phu. North Vietnamese troops entering Hanoi. Delegates at the Geneva conference of 1954, in the Palais des Nations, including representatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the People’s Republic of China, among others. Closeup of Soviet delegation, with Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, second from left. View of the North Vietnamese delegation, and delegate Ta Quang Buu, Vice Minister of Defense of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), and Head of their Military Delegation, signing the accords. Closeup of one treaty page, with his signature, as Minister of Defense, and that of Henri, Deltiel, Brigadier General, who signed for the Commander in Chief of all French Forces in Indochina. OUtdoors. After the conference, Soviet Foreign Minister, Molotov shakes hands with Chou En-lai, Chinese Foreign Minister. Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister,Andrei Gromyko, wearing a hat, is standing behind Molotov. A long line of refugees fleeing to the South, from North Vietnam. A 1954 map showing the division of North and South Vietnam at the 19th parallel. Mist settled among mountain tops. South Vietnamese people engaged in agricultural pursuits and building new dwellings. South Vietnamese placing ballots in boxes during elections. Brief glimpse of the glamorous Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, defacto First Lady of South Vietnam, dressed in ao dai and wearing dark glasses, as she leaves a polling place. Farmers dressed in traditional conical hats (non la) working in grain fields, and reaping and carrying cut grain on poles in the South. Beautiful view of fishermen and boats silhouetted against sky, with tall limestone islands in background, at Ha Long Bay, North Vietnam (incorrectly implying it shows South Vietnamese in peaceful pursuits). South Vietnamese at work building structures with concrete blocks. A car with bullet holes in the windshield, draws attention on busy street in South Vietnam. Closeup of murdered man inside on floor of car. Scenes of vandalism at a house. Viet Minh guerillas moving through jungles and setting fires to straw roofed houses. Remains of a destroyed dwelling. Bodies of South Vietnamese killed, according to the narrator, by "Viet Cong pursuasion squads." A framed picture of Ho Chi Minh, over a North Vietnamese star flag.

Injured soldiers are treated in Hanoi, French Indochina during the Indochina War. Soldiers carry the injured soldiers on stretchers into a medical van. A French medical aircraft stationed. Medical vans on the side of the aircraft. Officers stand in front of the aircraft. Soldiers taken out of the aircraft on stretchers. Several medical aircraft stationed. Men take the injured soldiers out of the aircraft and into the medical vans. A woman with men helps injured soldiers to disembark from the aircraft. The coffin of one of the soldiers kept in a truck.

Injured soldiers being treated in Hanoi, French Indochina during the Indochina War. A medical team of soldiers outside aircraft. A nurse helps an injured soldier to get off a bed in the aircraft. The injured soldiers are carried on stretchers into a medical van. The nurse treats the injured soldiers. The soldiers are taken in the medical van. The medical team stands. Officers greet each other and talk.

North Vietnamese Vietminh establishing along the 17th Parallel following the Geneva Accords in 1954. Early morning street scene in Vietnam. Very few people about. A street cleaner at work. Shops lining the street. Many with signs in French. A man rolls a hand cart along the street. Buildings shown. Street sign refers to Grand Boulevard. Cattle walking along a street. Two French soldiers standing and a Vietnamese man sitting in front of a French hospital. An almost empty residential street. An old woman in black squatting in a doorway. Two women outside a barbed wire barrier. One scavenges in leaves on sidewalk. A boy and girl pose. Group of Viet Minh supporters, dressed in black, have difficulty carrying two North Vietnamese flags in a stiff breeze. Vietminh troops marching along a wet road, and across a railroad bridge. Several French officers walking with the leaders of the Vietminh troops. On the other side of the bridge, they pass a parked French armored car. Back on the bridge, a translater introduces a French officer to two Viet Minh Commanders who shake hands with him. North Vietnamese school children march through a makeshift Vietminh gateway and cross a railroad track. Others march alongside a railroad. A teacher and some students carry Vietminh flags. A brisk wind is blowing. The Vietnamese people gather in an open market place, near a river (possibly the Ben Hai River), where the Vietminh flag is flown. Villager placing Vietminh flag on her house. Many Vietminh flags flying. A market stall displaying pictures of Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong (aka Mao Tse-tung) for sale. Group of children pose by the pictures. Street scene in a town. Vietnamese people on sidewalks near shops. Signs are in French, but Vietminh flags fly on shops. The Lycee Albert Sarraut lyceum building in Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnamese youth entering the school.